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An open letter to the Prime Minister, Dr Lawrence Gonzi
I am writing to you, as the Prime Minister and as the former Minister for social services, which ministry is handling the forthcoming pension’s reform.
For the past months the public has been bombarded by statements, news conferences, television discussions and, in the press from you, ministers, members of both sides of the house and unions, about the pension’s reform.
Much has been said, for and against, every aspect has been covered to try and justify the drastic reforms in pensions that are due to take place.
You, your ministers, members of parliament and Party officials are constantly arguing about the doom which will descend upon us if these reforms are not implemented.
You and your party machine has been at full swing trying to brainwash the public that sacrifices will have to be made. That everyone has to do his bit, to safeguard present and future pensions.
One thing that seemed to have slipped everybody’s mind Prime Minster. I think it is my duty to remind you and the general public. No one as yet, as far as I know, mentioned if these reforms are affecting the privileged pensions of members of parliament. Are these honourable people to make sacrifices like everybody else to ensure future pensions?
Are members of Parliament still going to keep their privilege of having two or three different pensions? What parliamentarians enjoy is unlike the unprivileged common citizen who receives a British service pension and gets half this pension discriminately taken away from him?
Are members of parliament still going to receive the full two thirds of their pay no matter the amount they earned prior to their retirement? This is unlike the unprivileged common citizen who cannot receive a pension of more than Lm4,600 no matter how high his pay was.
Are members of parliament still going be entitled for a pension after only ten years as members of parliament? This is unlike the unprivileged common citizen who is going to have to work for forty years before being entitled for a pension.
Are those young people, who you are encouraging to take out a private pension plan to supplement their retirement pension, going to see half their private pension snatched away from them when they retire? If your answer to this is in the negative, then it is high time you stop discriminating and give the ex-servicemen what is rightfully theirs, their much earned full service pension. Or are you waiting for them to all dwindle away and die? Most of them already have.
Now that we are in the heaven of the European Union, ‘the bullies’ of equality and fairness, is this discrimination allowed among its citizens? If this is brought to the attention of the Court of European Human Rights, will it accept these unfair discriminating privileges?
I, and many like me who are tax payers and pay for these discriminating and unjust privileges, have every right to expect either a correction of what I have said, or a true straight answer to these questions, without any politician’s mumble jumble. No reply will mean that I am right and you all expect us common citizens to bear the full weight of the sacrifices that you are imposing on us.
J Buttigieg, B’Kara
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